Huntington Beach, CA – Paintball history
was made this weekend as the NPPL Super 7 World Series made its debut along
the shores of the Pacific Ocean to an estimated 50,000 spectators per day.

“This event was paintball’s coming out
party,” said Chuck Hendsch, President of the National Professional Paintball
League (NPPL). Hendsch, a Huntington Beach resident, went on to say, “There
must have been more than 100,000 people that came to Huntington Beach to
watch the best teams in the world compete.”

Nintey-one teams from all over the world
were in Huntington Beach on February 7, 8, and 9, competing for their share
of $35,000 in cash and $90,000 in prizes. Unofficial estimates by city
parking officials and private security put the total attendance over 100,000
for the three-day event. “I thought the event was amazing,” said Ron McLin,
owner of The Longboard Restaurant and Pub on Main Street. “There
were people here from all over the country, and I think it was great for
the city, and all the businesses in town.”

“This was the best paintball event ever,”
said Alex Fraige, team captain of Dynasty, the winners in the Professional
Division. Fraige, a San Diego resident added, “It was great to take home
a check for $20,000, but what was more important to the sport, and to our
team, was the thousands of kids and families that had a chance to enjoy
paintball for the first time.”

“Over the past several years, Huntington
Beach has become a place where many of the world’s greatest extreme athletes
come to compete in various events throughout the year,” said Huntington
Beach City Council Member Pam Houchen. “This history, combined with the
rising popularity of paintball, makes Huntington Beach a perfect site to
kick off this world-class event.”

Paintball is the fastest growing sport
in the United States, and is the third largest extreme sport in participation.
Yet up to this point, paintball has gone relatively unnoticed by the general
public. The LA Times, Orange County Register, Fox News LA, and many others
were all on hand to cover the event. NPPL.tv, the official website for
the league went from having 41,000 hits per day on February 1, to having
more than 700,000 hits over the three days of the event.

This was the first stop of five for the
2003 NPPL Super 7 World Series. From here, the tour goes to Las Vegas on
April 11, 12, and 13. Then it’s off to Chicago in June, New York City in
August, with the final stop in Miami this October.